Although styes are not serious or contagious, they’re an extremely uncomfortable eye infection to live with. The painful, red bumps appear on or inside the eyelid quite suddenly, as a result of a blocked gland that has accumulated sebum, and though they disappear on their own in a few days, everybody wants to get stye eye relief as quickly as possible.
If you’ve woken up with the beginnings of a stye, the first thing to do is not to touch or palpate it continuously. That’s only going to encourage the bump to get worse. Read the remedies below, and take care of the inflammation in a gentle, prescribed way. We’re hoping it will be gone in time for your date night not to turn into one big, embarrassing conversation about eye allergies and eye infections.
Stye Eye Relief # 1: The Eyelid Must Be Cleansed First
• Cleanse your eyelids. You can do this with diluted, tear-free baby shampoo if you have any at home. If not, then wash gently with warm water and pat dry.
Stye Eye Relief # 2: No Dirty Hands, No Make-Up, No Lenses
• Do not touch the infected eye without washing your hands first. And don’t try to hide the swelling – as tempting as the idea might be – with make-up. That will only worsen the inflammation, and healing will take longer.
In fact, now’s the time to think of throwing out your old eye make-up, like mascara and eyeliner, as they hold and spread a lot of eye contaminants.
If you wear contact lenses, leave them for the time being too, and put on your back-up glasses instead.
Stye Eye Relief # 3: Apply Warm Compresses Soaked In Soothing Liquids
• Take at least 3-4 breaks during the day to apply warm compresses to the affected eye for about 10-15 minutes. Your kitchen pantry should be stocked with at least some of the effective soothing soaks that help heal styes. Let’s go over them:
Green Tea: Place a warm, moist bag of green tea over the eye. Green tea fights bacteria and brings down swelling.
Grated Potato: The juice contains astringent properties that contract tissues and reduce skin irritations.
Cucumber Slices: The cool, refreshing juice of fresh cucumber works a quiet miracle on styes. Give the slices a good rub against the rest of the cucumber to make a white, creamy substance come up to the surface first. This is the magic stuff with strong curing powers.
Fresh Turmeric: If you happen to have some fresh turmeric root in the house (not the powdered version), boil a few pieces in water. Strain and then use like an eye drop several times in the day. The spice has incomparable antiseptic powers and is often used like poultice over deep cuts and wounds.
Taking 24 hours to give your infected eye a lot of TLC at home should ease the stye greatly. However, in the unlikely event of the inflammation proving to be stubborn, check with an eye doctor for a prescription.